The Overseas Highway opened to road travel on January 25, 1928. However, the original road did not stretch in an unbroken highway between the mainland and Key West. Instead, the road consisted of two segments (the first from the mainland to Lower Matecumbe Key and the second from No Name Key to Key West). In between, vehicles had to take a 41 mile ferry ride between the islands. Thus, the first version of the Overseas Highway was overseas in more than one sense of the word!

What I found interesting on my drive down to Key West was the frahmented section of the old railroad tracks and bridges along the way. My friends told me the history on them during my first day that i was visiting them, but I was really tired from driving through the night before, that I forgot what they told me?

Those were the old railroad bridges – in the 1930s, they converted them to car bridges. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, they replaced those bridges with the ones we drive on now. They cut the old ones in part so boats could get through and in part to keep people off of them (so they wouldn’t have to do upkeep). Interestingly, they are putting the old railroad bridges back together now as part of Florida Overseas Heritage Trail. It’s going to be a dedicated bike/pedestrian path all the way to Key West when it is done.